The Ideas Foundation

The mission of the Ideas Foundation www.ideasfoundation.org.uk is to identify and nurture creatively gifted young people whose talents may have been overlooked in the exam focused school system. The Ideas Foundation's main programme is the Creativity Scholarship programme for disadvantaged and BME students aged  14-19.

Tom's Trust has funded the Graft & Glamour Project: Over the past 3 years students that are reported as 'at risk of exclusion and failing educationally' have done well on this project and re-engaged with education. Many of these young people are highly creative and if captured by creativity and innovation will shine. For this reason 'Graft & Glamour' has been designed, specifically for these students.

Tom's Trust has also provided funding for a project for 16 excluded students in Hackney. The theme was 'off side creatives' a multimedia film showing how these young people can be re-engaged and imaginatively 'activated' to produce future creative and productive individuals, as opposed to their predicted socioeconomic dead-end.

The project was based mainly in Hackney Community College, but there were also University and industry venues with mentors and a personal development programme. - www.ideasfoundation.org.uk